Lasting machine having upper conforming yoke



LASTING MACHINE HAVING UPPER CONFORMING YOKE Filed April 18, 1969 H. W. STEMMLER Dec. 15, 1970 8 SheetsSheet 1 m m mm V W Dec. 15, 1970 U Filed April 18, 1969 'H. w. STEMMLER 3,546,727

LASTING MACHINE HAVING UPPER CONFORMING YOKE 8 Sheets-Sheet 2 Dec. 15, 1970 w, STEMMLER 3,546,727

LASTING MACHINE HAVING UPPER CONFORMING YOKE Filed April 18, 1969 8 Sheets-Sheet s FIG.-3

LASTING MACHINE HAVING UPPER CONFORMTNG YOKE Filed April 18, 1969 Dec. 15, 1970 H. w. STEMMLER 8 Sheets-Sheet LASTING MACHINE HAVING UPPER CONFORMING YOKE Filed April 18, 1969 Dec. 15,1970 H. w. STEMMLER 8 Sheets-Sheet 5 Dec. 15, 1970 H. w. STEMMLER 3,546,727

LASTING MACHINE HAVING UPPER CONFORMING YOKE Filed A il 18, 1969 8 Sheets-Sheet a I: aa\ I as Vi l 226 0 United States Patent 3,546,727 LASTING MACHINE HAVING UPPER CONFORMING YOKE Heinz W. Stemmler, Wilmington, Mass., assignor to Jacob S. Kamborian, West Newton, Mass. Filed Apr. 18, 1969, Ser. No. 817,521 Int. Cl. A4311 21/00 U.S. Cl. 128.2 16 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A lasting machine having a yoke so constructed as to conform an upper to the shape of a last on which the upper is mounted during relative rising movement of the last with respect to the yoke.

In pending application Ser. No. 690,527 filed Dec. 14, 1967, now Pat. No. 3,477,078 there is disclosed a lasting machine that includes a yoke, having a bight and a pair of legs extending forwardly of the bight, that is intended to conform an upper to the shape of a last on which it is mounted during relative rising movement of the last with respect to the yoke. One aspect of this invention is concerned with an improvement in the mounting of the yoke in that the yoke bight is mounted for lateral shitting movement. This enables the yoke to shift laterally while it is engaging the upper to conform it to the shape of the last and thus accommodate itself to the unequal stresses encountered by the yoke legs while they are bearing against an asymmetrical last.

Lasting machines of the type related to this invention include wiping means intended to wipe the margin of the upper against an insole located on the last bottom, a support for supporting bottom-down the shoe assembly that is formed by the last, upper and insole, a hold-down engageable with the top of the last and a clamp (herein taking the form of the yoke) located between the sup port and the hold-down and engageable with the side of the shoe assembly to apply a clamping force thereto. It is known practice, after the wiping means have completed their wiping operation and are supporting the shoe assembly, to impart a force between the hold-down and the wiping means of such of magnitude as to apply a bedding pressure to the bottom of the shoe assembly. Due to the convex contour of the shoe assembly bottom, the application of the bedding pressure tended to cause the shoe assembly to rock on the top of the wiping means, and it was found that this rocking was undesirably resisted by the clamping force applied by the clamp. A further aspect of this invention is concerned with overcoming this undesired feature by providing an arrangement for relaxing the application of the clamping force during the application of the bedding pressure.

As disclosed in the aforementioned patent, with certain types of shoes it is desirable to not have the yoke engage the upper during the relative rising movement of the last with respect to the yoke. A further aspect of the invention is concerned with an improved yoke mounting construction which enables the yoke to be adjusted so as to be disengaged from the upper during said relative rising movement.

In the drawing:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of the machine;

FIG. 2 is a front elevation of the upper portion of the machine;

FIG. 3 is a vertical section of a mechanism for imparting rising movement to the shoe assembly support;

FIG. 4 is a vertical section of the shoe assembly sup port;

3,546,727 Patented Dec. 15, 1970 FIG. 5 is a side elevation of the machine that is partially in section;

FIG. 6 is a view taken on the line 66 of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a plan view of the yoke and its mounting;

FIG. 8 is a section taken on the line 8-8 of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a schematic representation of a portion of the control circuit of the machine;

FIG. 10 is a side elevation of the shoe assembly as it appears in the machine prior to the relative rising movement of the shoe assembly with respect to the yoke;

FIG. 11 is a plan view of the shoe as it is rising relatively to the yoke;

FIG. 12 is a side elevation of the shoe assembly as it appears in the machine after it has completed its rising movement relatively to the yoke;

FIG. 13 is a sectional view of the shoe assembly as it appears in the machine during the application of the bedding pressure; and

FIG. 14 is a view of a shoe assembly of the type that should not be engaged by the yoke during the relative rising movement of the last.

Referring to FIGS. l3, the machine includes a frame 10 that incorporates a base plate 12 that has a sleeve 14 extending downwardly therefrom. For convenience of operation, the machine is inclined about 30 degrees from the horizontal. However, parts extending in the direction of the plate 12 will hereafter be referred to as extending horizontally and parts extending in the direction of the sleeve 14 Will hereafter be referred to as extending vertically. The operator is intended to be located to the left of the machine as seen in FIG. 1, and a direction extending toward the operator (right to left in FIG. 1) will be referred to as forward while a direction extending away from the operator (left to right in FIG. 1) Will be referred to as rearward.

An air operated motor 16 is secured to a cap 18 at the bottom of the sleeve 14, and a toe post 20 is secured to the piston rod 22 of the motor 16 to extend vertically and be slidably within the sleeve 14. A roller 24, bolted to the sleeve 14, is received in a vertical slot 26 in the post 20 to preclude rotation of the post about the axis of the sleeve.

A toe post extension 28 (FIG. 4) is secured to the upper end of the post 20. A toe insole rest 30 and a pair of forepart insole rests 32 are secured to the post extension 28.

A rearwardly extending ledge 34 of the post extension 28 has a hanger 36 depending therefrom. An air operated motor 38 is pivoted to the hanger 36. The piston rod 40 of the motor 38 is pivoted to a bent link 42, and the link 42 is pivoted at its mid-point to a toggle link 44. The link 44 extends downwardly of the link 42 and is pivoted to the post extension 28 while the link 42 extends upwardly and is pivoted to a slide 48 that is guided for vertical sliding movement by the post extension 28 and a bearing plate 50 that is mounted to the post extension 28. A mount 52 is secured to the slide 48, and an applicatorsupport 54 is secured to the mount 52.

The frame 10 includes a head 56 (FIGS. 2 and 5) located rearwardly of the aforementioned parts. A slide plate 58 is slidably mounted for forward-rearward movement in the head 56 on gibs 60. Referring to FIGS. 5 and 6, trunnions 62, upstanding from the slide plate 58, mount a pin 64 on which is swingably mounted a hold down lever 66. The lever 66 has a front leg 68 extending forwardly of the pin 64 and a rear leg 70 extending rearwardly of the pin 64. A toe hold-down 72 is secured to the front end of the lever leg 68. An air actuated motor 74, pivoted to a bracket 76 secured to the frame 10, has a piston rod 78 that is pivoted to the rear end of the lever leg 70.

An air actuated motor 80 is fastened to a flange 82 secured to the rear of the slide plate 58. The piston rod 84 of the motor 80 is connected to a housing 86 that is slidably mounted in gibs 88 formed in the slide plate 58. A block 90 is slidably mounted in the gibs 88 forwardly of the housing 86 and is connected to the housing by a bolt 92. A pair of symmetrically disposed wiper cams 94 are slidably mounted on a thickened block 96 that forms the forward end of the slide plate 58. The block 96 has pins 98 upstanding therefrom that extend into slots or cam tracks 100 and 102 formed in the wiper cams 94. Forwardly diverging linke 104 are pivotally connected at their rear ends to the block 90 and at their forward ends to the wiper cams 94. Wipers 106 are connected to and extend forwardly of the Wiper cams 94. The wipers are fiat plates having forwardly divergent edges 108 that diverge from a vertex 110.

The housing 86 has a laterally projecting limb 112 to which is pivoted a link 114. The link 114 is pivoted to one end of a bell crank 116, and the bell crank 116 is pivoted intermediate its ends to a bracket 118 which is secured to the head 56. The other end of the bell crank is pivoted to the top of a rod 120 and the lower end of the rod 120 is pivoted to a sleeve 122. The sleeve 122 is secured to a shaft 124 that is rotatably mounted in hangers 126 secured to the frame 10. A bank of cams 128 (only one of which is shown in FIG. is secured on the shaft 124 so that the cams are in spaced axial alignment in the manner shown in Pat. No. 3,397,417. Each cam has a cam lobe extending partly about its periphery that is positioned to engage one of a bank of valves 130 (only one of which is shown in FIG. 5) in response to rotation of the shaft 124, the valves being mounted on a strap 132 secured to the hangers 126.

A cover plate 134 (FIGS. 7 and 8) is secured to the block 96 and extends above the wiper cams 94. The plate 134 has a cut-out 136 at its forward end to accommodate a flexible shoe comforming pad or yoke 138. The yoke 138 is of substantially U-shaped configuration and has a bight 140 and a pair of legs 142 extending forwardly of the bight on opposite sides thereof. The yoke 138 is made of a flexible, resilient material such as Teflon and has a spring backing member 144 secured thereto and extending about its outer periphery. The backing member 144 is so constructed as to yieldably urge the yoke legs 144 inwardly.

A bracket 146 is bolted to the cover plate 134 to extend into the cut-out 136. The bracket 146 incorporates a laterally extending beam 148 that is located rearwardly of and above the yoke bight 140. A carriage 150, having rearwardly directed teeth 152 thereon, is slidably mounted on the beam 148 for lateral movement along the beam. A bight mount 154 is secured to the bight portion of the backing member 144 by screws 156. The bight mount 154 has a forwardly-rearwardly extending slot 158 that slidably receives a pin 160. The pin 160 is secured to and depends from the carriage 150. An air operated motor 162 is secured to the block 134 rearwardly of the carriage 150. The piston rod 164 of the motor 162 has forwardly directed teeth 166 that are adapted to mesh with the teeth 152.

A forwardly extending protrusion 168 that is integral with the cover plate 134 is located on each side of the yoke 138. A horizontal slot 170 (see also FIG. 2) is formed in the forward end of each protrusion 168, and each slot 170 receives a drive bar 172 that extends laterally through the slot. A lip 174, that is secured to and extends forwardly of each protrusion 168, threadedly receives a screw 176. The rear of each screw 176 is rotatably received in a stop 178 and each stop 178 is located in a slot 170 and bears against the front of a drive bar 172. Each drive bar 172 is secured to a block 180 which in turn is pivoted by a pin 182 to a bell crank 184. Each bell crank 184 is pivoted to the cover plate 134 by means of a bracket 186 and a pin 188. An air operated motor 4 190, which is pivoted to each side of the cover plate 134 by means of a bracket 192 and a pin 194, has a piston rod 195 that is pivotally connected to its associated bell crank 184 by a pin 197.

A link 196 is pivoted to the inner end of each drive bar 172 by a pin 198. Each link 196 extends in an inward and forward direction from its pin 198 and is pivotally mounted at its inward and forward end by a pin 200 to a block 202. Each block 202 is secured to the front end of a yoke leg 142. A shoulder 204, which is formed at the inner end of each drive bar 172, is adapted to abut against its associated link 196 to limit the extent of rearward pivotal movement of the links 196 with respect to the drive bars 172 about the axes of the pins 198.

A pair of bores 206 are formed within each of the protrusions 168 so as to intersect their associated slots 170. The bores 206 contain pistons 208 and 210. A cam follower 212 is rotatably mounted to each piston 210 by means of a block 214 which is secured to the piston 210 and which is engageable with the piston 208. Pressurized air is introduced via fittings 216 and passageways (not shown) in the protrusions 168 to the bores 220 to urge the pistons 208, 210 and the cam followers 212 forwardly toward their associated drive bars 172. When the cam followers 212 are in their most forward positions, a clearance exists between the rear ends 218 of the slots and the rear ends 219 of the blocks 214. A cam 220 is secured to the rear face of each drive bar 172 in alignment with its associated cam follower 212.

In the idle condition of the machine: the motor 16 and the insole rests 30, 32 carried thereby are in a lowered position; the motor 38 is in the FIG. 4 position with the piston rod 40 retracted into the motor 38 so that the applicator-support 54 is in a lower position below the level of the insole rests 30, 32; the slide plate 58, which is connected to an air actuated motor 222 that is mounted to the frame 10 by a linkage 224 (FIG. 6), is maintained by the motor 222 in a rearward out-of-the-way position; the piston rod 78 is retracted into the motor 74 so that the toe hold-down 72 is in an elevated position; the piston rod 84 is retracted into the motor 80 so that the wipers 106 are in their rearward open position; the piston rod 164 is retracted into the motor 162 so that the teeth 152 and 166 are out of engagement; the piston rods 195 are retracted into the motors so that the drive bars 172 are in outer positions; and the pistons 208, 210 are urged forwardly under pressurized air to thereby force the drive bars 172 forwardly about the axes of the pins 182 into engagement with the stops 178. The stops 178 have been adjusted by the screws 176 so that the spaces between the slot ends 218 and the block ends 219 are somewhat greater than the widths of the cams 220. At this time, the inner ends of the cams 220 are located outwardly of the cam followers 212. Because of the inward spring forces imparted to the yoke legs 142 by the backing member 144, the links 196 are abutting against the shoulders 204 as in dicated in FIG. 7.

Referring to FIG. 10, a shoe assembly is presented bottom-down to the machine to be pulled over and toe lasted. The shoe assembly comprises a shoe insole 226- attached to the bottom of a last 228 and a shoe upper 230 draped over the last. The insole is brought to bear against the insole rests 30, 32 with the periphery of the insole in substantial alignment with the periphery of the applicatorsupport 54.

In the manner disclosed in Pat. No. 3,397,417 the control circuit of the machine is actuated to cause the toe and {orepart portions of the upper to be stretched about the ast.

Referring to FIG. 9 which shows a portion of the control circuit of the machine, the source of pressurized air for the control system is indicated by the number 240. The motor 16 is maintained in its idle position by pressurized air passing from the source 240 through a line 252, a valve 254 and a line 256 to the motor 16. The motor 222 is maintained in its idle position by pressurized air passing from the source 240* through a line 258, a valve 260 and a line 262 to the motor 222. The motor 74 is maintained in its idle position by pressurized air passing from the line 262 through a line 264 to this motor. The motor '80 is maintained in its idle position by pressurized air passing from the source 240 through a line 266, a valve 268 and a line 270 to this motor. The motor 38 is maintained in its idle position by pressurized air passing from the line 270 through a line 271, a spring return valve 273 and a line 275 to this motor. The motor 162 is maintained in its idle position by means of a spring 272 (FIG. 8) therein. The motors 190 are maintained in their idle positions by pressurized air passing to these motors from the source 240 through a line 274, a valve 276 and a line 278. The pistons 208, 210 are maintained in their idle positions by pressurized air passing thereto from the source 240 through a line 280, a pressure regulator 282, a manually actuable valve 284 and a line 286.

At this time, the valve 260 is shifted by the operator to enable the air in the lines 262 and 264 to vent to atmosphere through this valve and to enable pressurized air to pass from the valve 260 through a line 288 to actuate the motor 222. At the same time, pressurized air under relatively light pressure passes from the line 288 through a line 290, a low pressure regulator 292, a shuttle valve 294 and a line 296 to the motor 74. The actuation of the motor 222 causes the slide plate 58 to be shifted from its rearward out-of-the-way position to a forward working position to thereby bring the wipers 106 and the yoke 138 to a position wherein they can act on the shoe assembly as indicated in phantom in FIG. 10. The actuation of the motor 74 causes the toe hold-down 72 to come into engagement with the top of the forepart of the shoe assembly as indicated in phantom in FIG. 10.

The shifting of the valve 260 also causes pressurized air to pass from the line 288 through a pilot line 298 to the valve 273 to shift the valve 273. The shifting of the valve 273 enables pressurized air to pass from the line 271 through the valve 273 and a line 300 to actuate the motor 38 to raise the applicator-support 54 against the periphery of the toe and forepart portions of the insole 226. At the same time, by means shown in Pat. No. 3,397,417, a ribbon of cement is extruded from holes 302 and a groove 304 in the applicator-support 54 against the periphery of the toe and forepart portions of the insole 226. At this time the parts assume the position shown inFIG. 10.

At the completion of the movement of the slide plate 58 to its forward working position, a cam 306 (FIG. 6) shifts a valve 307 to enable pressurized air to pass from the valve 307 through a pilot line 309 to a valve 308 to shift the valve 308. The shifting of the valve 308 enables pressurized air to pass from the source 240 through a line 310, the valve 308 and a pilot line 312 to the valve 254 to shift the valve 254. The shifting of the valve 254 enables pressurized air to pass from the line 2152 through the valve 254 and a line 314 to actuate the motor 16 to raise the post 20 and the parts carried thereby, including the shoe assembly, to a level such that the insole bottom is above the level of the tops of the wipers 106 an amount that is approximately equal to the thickness of the margin of the upper 230, as indicated in FIG. 12.

The shoe assembly was so placed on the insole rests 30, 32 that when the yoke 138 was moved to its forward working position the edges of the last 228 overlapped the inner wall 316 of the yoke as indicated in FIG. 11. During the rise of the shoe assembly, the upper 230 is snugly engaged by the yoke wall 316 to thereby cause the sides of the upper to conform to the shape of the sides of the last. During the engagement of the upper by the yoke wall, the yoke is initially compressed and then the yoke legs 142 are moved outwardly and the yoke bight 140 is moved rearwardly. The outward movement of the yoke legs takes place against the inward spring force imparted thereto by the backing member 144 with the links 196 swinging forwardly about the axes of the pins 198 away from the shoulders i204. The rearward movement of the yoke bight takes place with the pin moving rearwardly along the slot 158. Due to the asymmetrical construction of the toe and forepart portions of the shoe assembly, the yoke legs 142 will move outwardly different amounts during the rise of the shoe assembly, and, to accommodate itself to the resultant unequal stresses, the carriage 150 together with the yoke bight shifts laterally along the beam 148. The bearing of the toe hold-down 72 against the top of the forepart of the shoe assembly under the aforementioned relatively light pressure during the rise of the shoe assembly prevents the shoe assembly from shifting with respect to the applicator-support 54 and the insole rests 30, 32.

The machine includes a heel clamp 318 (FIG. 1) that is movable toward and away from the shoe assembly by a fluid operated motor 320 (FIG. 5) in the manner described in pending application Ser. No. 648,360 filed June 23, 1967 now US. Pat. No. 3,472,079. In the idle condition of the machine, the heel clamp 318 is maintained by the motor 320 in a forward position out of engagement with the shoe assembly.

At or near the end of the rise of the shoe assembly, a valve 322 (FIG. 3) that is bolted to the post 20 is shifted by a cam 324 that is bolted to the sleeve 14. The shifting of the valve 322, through means not shown, actuates the motor 320' to cause the heel clamp 318 to bear against the heel portion of the shoe assembly as shown in FIG. 12. The shifting of the valve 322 also enables pressurized air to flow from the source 240 through a line 326, the valve 322 and a pilot line 328 to the valve 276 to shift the valve 276. The valve 276 had been maintained in its idle condition by pressurized air passing thereto from the line 262 through a pilot line 330, but this flow of air was cut off when the valve 260 was shifted as described above. The shifting of the valve 276 cuts off the flow of pressurized air passing to the motors through the line 278. After this, pressurized air passes through the valve 27 6, a pilot line 332 and a sequencing device 334 to a valve 336 to shift the valve 336. Prior to its being shifted, the valve 336 had been maintained in its idle condition by pressurized air passing thereto from the pilot line 330 and a pilot line 338, but this flow of air was out off when the valve 260 was shifted as described above.

The shifting of the valve 336 enables pressurized air to flow from the source 240 through a line 340, the valve 336, a line 342, a pressure regulator 344-, a normally open spring return valve 346 and a line 348 to the motors 190 to actuate the motors 190 to move their piston rods forwardly. This causes the drive bars 172 to move inwardly and the cams 220 to engage the cam followers 212. The pressure regulator 282' for the pistons 208, 210 is set lower than the pressure regulator 344 for the motors 190 so that the engagement of the cams 220 with the cam followers 212 causes the cam followers together with the pistons 208, .210 to move rearwardly as permitted by the clearance between the rear ends 218 of the slots 170 and the rear ends 219 of the blocks 214. The drive bars thus have substantially rectilinear inward movement imparted thereto while being guided between the stops 178 and the cam followers 212. As described above, the links 196 swung forwardly about the axes of the pins 198 away from the shoulders 204 during the rise of the shoe assembly. The inwarid movement of the drive bars 172' causes the links 196 to swing further forward about the axes of the pins 198 and thereby move the yoke legs 1 42 inwardly and forwardly (heelwardly) to thereby cause the yoke 138 to press against the shoe assembly under a heavier pressure than had heretofore been applied by the pistons 208, 210 and thus cause the yoke to apply a clamping force to the shoe assembly for the below described wiping operation.

After the aforementioned operations in response to the shifting of the valve 336 takes place, pressurized air flows from the valve 336 through the line 342, a pilot line 350 and a sequencing device 352 to the valve 268 to shift the valve 268. The valve 268 had been maintained in its idle condition by pressurized air passing thereto from the line 262 through the pilot line 330 and a pilot line 354, but this air had been cut off in response to the above described shifting of the valve 260.

The shifting of the valve 268 cuts off the air that had previously flowed to the motor 38 through the line 271, the valve 273 and the line 300 and enables pressurized air to pass from the valve 268 through a line 356, the valve 273 and the l e 275 to the motor 38 to cause this motor to retract its piston rod 40 and thus lower the applicator-support 54. This serves to move the applicatorsupport out of the path of the wipers 106 during the below described wiping stroke.

The shifting of the valve 268 also cuts off the air that had previously flowed to the motor through the line 270 and enables pressurized air to flow from the valve 268 through a line 358 to the motor 80 to cause this motor to move its piston rod 84 forwardly. This forward movement of the piston rod 84, through the housing 86, the block and the links 104, causes the wiper cams 94 and the wipers 106 carried thereby to move with respect to the block 96 in a wiping stroke both forwardly and inwardly about the vertex in a path determined by the configuration of the cam tracks 100, 102 to thereby wipe or fold the margin of the upper 230 against the insole 226, as indicated in FIG. 13, and adhesively attach it thereto by means of the ribbon of cement that had been applied to the insole through the applicator-support 54.

The shifting of the valve 268 also enables pressurized air to pass from the line 358 through a line 360 to the motor 162 to cause this motor to move its piston rod 164 forwardly against the force of the spring 272 and thereby bring the teeth 166 into mesh with the teeth 152. This acts to lock the carriage 150, together with the yoke bight 140, in the transverse position to which they had been shifted along the beam 148 during the aforemen tioned rise of the shoe assembly.

From the foregoing it can be seen that during the wiping stroke the shoe assembly is clamped in position by the yoke 138 with the yoke legs 142 being pressed against the shoe assembly under the relatively heavy pressure imparted thereto by the motors 190 and the yoke bight being locked in position by the motor 162.

The pressurized air passing through the valve 307, described above, to shift the valve 308 had come to the valve 30-7 from the valve 336 by way of a line 362. When the valve 336 was shifted, as described above, the air in the lines 309 and 362 was vented to atmosphere through the valve 336, but the valve 254 remained in the position to which it had been shifted by the air in the line 312 due to inertia. In the idle condition of the machine, the valve 254 had been in such position as to enable air to pass from the line 256 to the motor 16 by pressurized air passing from the valve 260 through the line 262, a pilot line 364 and a shuttle valve 366 to the valve 254, and this air was cut off when the valve 260 was shifted as described above.

As the wipers 106 perform their wiping stroke, the connection between the limb 112 and the shaft 124 causes the shaft 124 and the bank of cams 128 to rotate to cause the valves in the bank of valves 130 to be sequentially actuated. One of the valves that is actuated is a valve 368 that is opened to allow pressurized air to pass from the source 240 through a line 370, the valve 368, a pilot line 372 and the shuttle valve 366 to the valve 254 to shift the valve 254. The shifting of the valve 254 enables pressurized air to pass from this valve through the line 256 to the motor 16 to actuate this motor to lower the insole rests 30, 32 out of the path of the oncoming wipers 106.

At the end of the wiping stroke, a valve 374 in the bank of valves 130 is opened which'enables pressurized air under full line pressure to pass from the line 288 through a line 376, the valve 374, a line 378, the shuttle valve 294 and the line 296 to the motor 74 to cause this motor to force the hold-down 72 against the forepart of the shoe assembly under an increased bedding pressure that is greater than the pressure that had heretofore been provided by the pressurized air entering the shuttle valve 294 through the line 290. The opening of the valve 374 also enables pressurized air to pass from the line 378 through a pilot line 380 to the valve 346 to shift the valve 346 to closed position. This cuts off the flow of air passing through the line 348 to the motors 190 and allows the air in the line 348 to vent to atmosphere through the valve 346. As a result the clamping force that the motors 190 had caused the yoke 138 to apply to the shoe assembly is relaxed,

From the foregoing, it can be seen that at the end of the wiping stroke the shoe assembly is supported solely by the wipers 106, as indicated in FIG. 13, and that the bedding pressure applied by the hold-down 72 causes the insole to be pressed firmly against the wiped upper margin. This has the effect of enhancing the adhesion between the wiped upper margin and the insole and to iron the wiped upper margin against the insole. As indicated in FIG. 13, the bottom of the shoe assembly is not perfectly planar but is somewhat convex. Therefore, during the application of the bedding pressure by the hold-down 72, the shoe assembly bottom has a tendency to rock on the planar top surfaces of the wipers 106. The relaxation of the lamping fore applied by the yoke 138 to the shoe assembly enables this rocking of the shoe assemly to take place.

After the bedding pressure has been applied for a predetermined time period, the machine parts are returned to their idle postions by the control circuit and the shoe assembly is released from the machine.

FIG. 14 shows a shoe of the moccasin type having a ridge or seamline 382 formed at the peripheral portion of the forepart of its upper 384. When using the machine on shoes of this type it is desirable to not have the yoke 138 engage the shoe assembly, as indicated in FIG. 11, during the rise of the shoe assembly from the FIG. 10 position to the FIG. 12 position as the engagement of the yoke with the shoe assembly during this rise causes the ridge or seamline 382 to snag on the yoke thereby marring or tearing the upper, Therefore, when operating on this type of shoe, the screws 176 (FIGS. 7 and 8) are manipulated to move the drive bars rearwardly against the forwardly directed forces imparted by the pistons 208, 218 an amount sufiicient to move the yoke 138 rearwardly so that the yoke will not engage the shoe assembly during its rise. During this rearward movement of the yoke, the slot 158 moves rearwardly with respect to the pin 154. When the motors 190 are actuated at the completion of the rise of the shoe assembly, the yoke legs 142 will move inwardly and forwardly in the manner described above and carry the yoke bight forwardly with the slot 158 moving forwardly of the pin 160 until the yoke legs and the yoke bight are in pressing engagement with the shoe assembly. In all other respects, the machine operates on the ridged shoe of FIG. 14 in the same manner as has been described above.

I claim:

1. A lasting machine comprising: a support for supporting bottom-down a shoe assembly that comprises a last having an insole on its botom and an upper draped thereabout with a selected end of the shoe assembly facing rearwardly; a yoke having a bight and a pair of legs extending forwardly of the bight; a laterally extending beam; bight mounting means so connecting the bight to the beam as to mount the bight for lateral shifting movement along the beam; means for initially positioning the support so that said end of the shoe assembly is below the yoke with the inner periphery of the yoke overlapping the outer periphery of said end of the shoe assembly; and means for thereafter imparting relative rising movement of the support with respect to the yoke to thereby cause the yoke to engage the upper and conform it to the shape of the last with the bight shifting laterally pursuant to the stresses encountered pursuant to said engagement.

2. A machine is defined in claim 1 wherein the bight mounting means comprises: a carriage movably mounted on the beam for lateral movement; and means connecting the bight to the carriage.

3. A machine as defined in claim 2 wherein the means connecting the bight to the carriage is so constructed as to permit forward-rearward movement of the bight with respect to the carriage so as to enable the bight to move rearwardly during said engagement of the yoke and the upper.

4. A machine as defined in claim 3 wherein said means connecting the bight to the carriage comprises: a bight mount, secured to the yoke bight, having a for wardly-rearwardly extending slot; and a pin secured to the carriage and slidably received in the slot.

5. A machine as defined in claim 1 further comprising: wiping means located below the yoke and mounted for movement between a retracted position and an advanced position in a wiping stroke to wipe the margin of said end of the upper against the insole; means for initially retaining the wiping means in its retracted position; means for imparting a wiping stroke to the wiping means subsequent to the completion of said relative rising movement; and means, efi'ective during the wiping stroke and subsequent to the completion of said relative rising movement, for locking the bight to the beam in the position in which it had been laterally shifted during said relative rising movement.

6. A machine as defined in claim 5 wherein the bight mounting means comprises: a carriage movably mounted on the beam for lateral movement; and means connecting the bight to the carriage; and wherein said means for locking the bight comprises: a locking surface on the carriage; a rod mounted for movement toward and away from the carriage; means for initially maintaining the rod spaced from the carriage; and means, effective during the wiping stroke and subsequent to the completion of said relative rising movement, to move the rod into engagement with the carriage.

7. A machine as defined in claim 6 wherein the means connecting the bight to the carriage is so constructed as to permit forward-rearward movement of the bight with respect to the carriage so as to enable the bight to move rearwardly during said engagement of the yoke and upper.

8. A machine as defined in claim 7 wherein said means connecting the bight to the carriage comprises: a bight mount, secured to the yoke bight, having a forwardlyrearwardly extending slot; and a pin secured to the carriage and slidably received in the slot.

9. A lasting machine comprising: a support for supporting bottom-down a shoe assembly that comprises a last having an insole on its bottom and an upper draped thereabout; a hold-down located above the support; a clamping member located between the support and the hold-down; wiping means, located below the clamping member, mounted for movement between a retracted position and an advanced position in a wiping stroke to Wipe a selected portion of the margin of the upper against the insole; means for initially maintaining the wiping means in its retracted position; means for initially causing the clamping member to apply a clamping force to the side of the shoe assembly to clamp the upper against the last; means to thereafter impart a wiping stroke to the wiping means, said wiping means supporting the shoe assembly at the completion of the wiping stroke; means, effective at the completion of the wiping stroke, to impart a force between the hold-down and the wiping means of such a magnitude as to apply a bedding pressure to the bottom of the shoe assembly; and means, effective during the application of the bedding pressure, to relax the application of said clamping force.

10. A lasting machine comprising: a support for supporting bottom-down a shoe assembly that comprises a last having an insole on its bottom and an upper draped thereabout with a selected end of the shoe assembly facing rearwardly; a hold-down located above the support; a flexible yoke, located between the support and the holddown, having a bight and a pair of legs extending forwardly of the bight; wiping means located below the yoke and mounted for movement between a retracted position and an advanced position in a wiping stroke to wipe the margin of said end of the upper against the insole; means for initially maintaining the wiping means in its retracted position; means for initally causing the yoke to apply a clamping force to the side of the shoe assembly to clamp the upper against the last; means to initially force the hold-down downwardly against the top of the shoe assembly under a relatively low pressure; means to thereafter impart a wiping stroke to the wiping means; means, effective during the wiping stroke, to lower the support whereby the wiping means supports the shoe assembly at the completion of the wiping stroke; means, effective at the completion of the wiping stroke, to force the holddown downwardly under a relatively high pressure of such a magnitude as to apply a bedding pressure to the bottom of the shoe assembly; and means, effective during the application of the bedding pressure, to relax the application of said clamping force.

11. A lasting machine comprising: a support for supporting bottom-down a shoe assembly that comprises a last having an insole on its bottom and an upper draped thereabout with a selected end of the shoe assembly facing rearwardly; a flexible yoke having a bight and a pair of legs extending forwardly of the bight; a bar, located outwardly of each yoke leg, mounted for forward-rearward movement and for inward-outward movement; a connection between each bar and a yoke leg so constructed as to move the yoke legs inwardly and forwardly in response to inward movement of the bars; adjustment means for adjusting the forward-rearward position of the bars together with the yoke; wiping means located below the yoke and mounted for movement between a retracted and an advanced position in a wiping stroke to wipe the margin of said end of the upper against the insole; means for initially maintaining the bars in outer positions; means for initially positioning the support so that said end of the shoe assembly below the yoke, the forward-rearward adjustment of the bars determining whether the yoke is in a forward enough position as to cause the inner periphery of the yoke to overlap the outer periphery of said end of the shoe assembly; means for initially maintaining the wiping means in its retracted position; means for thereafter imparting relative rising movement of the support with respect to the yoke to thereby cause the yoke, when said overlap exists, to engage the upper and conform it to the shape of the last; means for thereafter moving the bars inwardly to thereby cause the yoke legs to move forwardly and inwardly to enable the yoke to apply a clamping force to the shoe assembly regardless of the existence of said overlap during said relative rise of the shoe assembly; and means for thereafter imparting a wiping stroke to the wiping means.

12. A machine as defined in claim 11 wherein said adjustment means comprises: a stop mounted forwardly of each bar for forward-rearward adjustment; and force applying means yieldably urging each bar forwardly against its associated stop.

13. A lasting machine comprising: a support for supporting botom-down a shoe assembly that comprises a last having an insole on its bottom and an upper draped thereabout with a selected end of the shoe assembly facing rearwardly; a yoke having a bight and a pair of legs extending forwardly of the bight; bight mounting means so constructed as to mount the bight for lateral shifting movement; wiping means located below the yoke and mounted for movement between a retracted position and an advanced position in a wiping stroke to wipe the margin of said end of the upper against the insole; means for initially positioning the support so that said end of the shoe assembly is below the yoke with the inner periphery of the yoke overlapping the outer periphery of said end of the shoe assembly; means for initially retaining the wiping means in its retracted position; means for thereafter imparting relative rising movement of the support with respect to the yoke to thereby cause the yoke to engage the upper and conform it to the shape of the last with the bight shifting laterally pursuant to the stresses encountered pursuant to said engagement; means for imparting a wiping stroke to the wiping means subsequent to the completion of said relative rising movement; and means, effective during the wiping stroke and subsequent to the completion of said relative rising movement, for locking the bight in the position in which it had been laterally shifted during said relative rising movement.

14. A machine as defined in claim 13 wherein the bight mounting means comprises: a laterally extending beam; a carriage movably mounted on the beam for lateral movement; and means connecting the bight to the carriage; and wherein said means for locking the bight comprises: a locking surface on the carriage; a rod mounted for movement toward and away from the carriage; means for initially maintaining the rod spaced from the 12 carriage; and means, effective during the wiping stroke and subsequent to the completion of said relative rising movement, to move the rod into engagement with the carriage.

15. A machine as defined in claim 14 wherein the means connecting the bight to the carriage is so constructed as to permit forward-rearward movement of the bight with respect to the carriage so as to enable the bight to move rearwardly during said engagement of the yoke and upper.

16. A machine as defined in claim 15 wherein said means connecting the bight to the carriage comprises: a bight mount, secured to the yoke bight, having a forwardly-rearwardly extending slot; and a pin secured to the carriage and slidably received in the slot:

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,091,784 6/1963 Nickels l28.2 3,138,810 6/1964 Becker 1214.4X 3,422,476 1/1969 Becka 1214.4X

PATRICK D. LAWSON, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 1214.4 

